Volunteering your Heart and your Mind

I have been part of the recruiting process from very early on in my professional career. I started working for Ernst & Young in 1999 and every year a recruiting team went back to Louisiana State University (LSU Geaux Tigers!) and we were one of the many companies that were recruiting talented students. It was a fantastic learning experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We always recruited someone for their potential and not always for their “skill set”. Potential, Attitude and Team Dynamics were the main attributes that we looked for, the strategy was if we got those attributes right the individual should be able to learn any skill. I still think that strategy works. I believe that the opportunity to be part of a team in its own right is rewarding, but there are several attributes that we all can cultivate and bring to the table. I am also a strong believer that we cannot manage people, we can only manage things, everyone has the ability to lead starting with ourselves. While we go into the recruiting process, the elephant always in the room is the Compensation, Benefits, Stock Option etc, I think they are all very important, but I also strongly feel that all those things are for people to just show up, in order to be part of a winning team and to build a winning team every team member needs to Volunteer their Hearts and their Minds. Nobody can force anyone to be motivated, we need to create an environment that fosters self motivation.

So what is this environment? I have some thoughts, I believe if you can create an environment where everyone in the team has the freedom to express their ideas and are allowed to execute those that are in the strategic interest of the team and there is team camaraderie where everyone steps in to help anyone who is struggling is a good start. I think the saying from the Three Musketeers “One for all and All for One” is an attribute of a winning team. And the leadership is not a position but more an attribute of the contribution one makes to the the team. I currently play the role of a CEO of GreenQloud and I model my leadership style based on a philosophy and concept of a Servant Leadership. I am at the service of every team member, I am my team’s servant. I do not take the definition of a servant lightly, it is the most noble of roles, it takes a lot of courage, love and respect to be a loyal servant. I have always believed it is a humbling attribute that inspires each and everyone of us and I believe it takes more courage and leadership to be humble. It easy to be a master with a whip, because all you need to do is crack the whip and some will respond and most will not. I have never believed fear of someone can be a Motivator in anything especially in an environment where everyone needs to volunteer their Hearts and Mind to survive and to Win.